Monitoring support apparatus and monitoring support method for supporting work of monitoring person who monitors plurality of subjects by sequentially visiting the plurality of subjects

ABSTRACT

An apparatus includes a measuring device, a position specifying circuit, and a determining circuit. The measuring device measures a plurality of subjects by radiating a detecting wave toward the plurality of subjects. The position specifying circuit specifies positions of the plurality of subjects on a basis of information obtained by the measuring device. The determining circuit determines at least one of: a next subject suitable as a subject to be visited next by a monitoring person among the plurality of subjects; and a movement path along which the monitoring person moves from a position of the monitoring person to the next subject on a basis of the positions of the plurality of subjects specified by the position specifying circuit. A method performs the operations of the measuring device, and the circuits.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/000,431,filed Aug. 24, 2020, which is a continuation of International PatentApplication No. PCT/JP2019/018317, filed May 8, 2019, which claimspriority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-104066, filed May 30,2018, and to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-061402, filed Mar. 27,2019. The entire disclosure of each of the above-identified documents,including the specification, drawings, and claims, is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a monitoring support apparatus and amonitoring support method for supporting patrolling and monitoring workof a monitoring person who monitors a plurality of subjects.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, monitoring devices for monitoring subjects such asinfants are known. International Publication No. 2016/151966 discloses,as an example of this kind of monitoring device, a monitoring devicethat determines whether or not a sleeping infant is exhibiting a sign ofsudden infant death syndrome by taking an image of the infant by using acamera and gives an notification to an outside if such a sign is found.

SUMMARY

One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment provides a monitoring supportapparatus and a monitoring support method that lessen a burden ofpatrolling and monitoring operation of a monitoring person who monitorssubjects.

In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature amonitoring support apparatus for supporting work of a monitoring personwho monitors a plurality of subjects by sequentially visiting theplurality of subjects, including: a measuring device that measures theplurality of subjects and the monitoring person by radiating a detectingwave toward the plurality of subjects and the monitoring person; aposition specifying circuit that specifies positions of the plurality ofsubjects and a position of the monitoring person on a basis ofinformation obtained by the measuring device; and a decision circuitthat decides at least one selected from a group consisting of a nextsubject suitable as a subject to be visited next by the monitoringperson among the plurality of subjects and a movement path along whichthe monitoring person moves from the position of the monitoring personto the next subject on a basis of the positions of the plurality ofsubjects and the position of the monitoring person specified by theposition specifying circuit.

A burden on a monitoring person who patrols and monitors subjects can belessened.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be implemented as a system, a method, an integratedcircuit, a computer program, a computer-readable storage medium such asa CD-ROM, or any selective combination thereof.

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments willbecome apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/oradvantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments andfeatures of the specification and drawings, which need not all beprovided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/oradvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a monitoring support apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of themonitoring support apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a measuring device of the monitoringsupport apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment, a nursingpersonnel, and nursed persons viewed from above;

FIG. 4 illustrates an input unit of the monitoring support apparatusaccording to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating measurement information andmonitoring information stored in a memory of the monitoring supportapparatus according to the exemplary embodiment in chronological order;

FIG. 6 illustrates a storage table stored in the memory of themonitoring support apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of operation of a notification device ofthe monitoring support apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a monitoring support method accordingto the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates another example of the notification device of themonitoring support apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates a specific example of deciding a nursed person whoshould be visited next in the monitoring support apparatus according tothe exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 11 illustrates a storage table stored in the memory of themonitoring support apparatus illustrated in FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 12 illustrates a specific example of deciding a movement path of anursing personnel in the monitoring support apparatus according to theexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 13 illustrates a storage table stored in the memory of themonitoring support apparatus illustrated in FIG. 12 ;

FIG. 14A illustrates an example of a movement path decided by themonitoring support apparatus illustrated in FIG. 12 ;

FIG. 14B illustrates an example of a movement path decided by themonitoring support apparatus illustrated in FIG. 12 ;

FIG. 15A illustrates another example of a movement path decided by themonitoring support apparatus illustrated in FIG. 12 ;

FIG. 15B illustrates another example of a movement path decided by themonitoring support apparatus illustrated in FIG. 12 ;

FIG. 16A illustrates still another example of a movement path decided bythe monitoring support apparatus illustrated in FIG. 12 ; and

FIG. 16B illustrates still another example of a movement path decided bythe monitoring support apparatus illustrated in FIG. 12 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Underlying Knowledge Forming Basis of the Present Disclosure

For example, in a case where nursed persons such as infants who aretaking an afternoon nap are monitored as subjects, a nursing personnelsuch as a nursery school teacher is required to regularly patrol as amonitoring person to check the nursed persons instead of monitoring thenursed persons by using a monitoring device only. A conventionalmonitoring device that monitors nursed persons by using a non-contactsensor such as a camera undesirably cannot detect a nursed person hiddenbehind a nursing personnel when viewed from the non-contact sensor, thatis, a nursed person in a blind spot since the nursing personnel blocks adetection range of the non-contact sensor. If such a state where themonitoring device cannot detect a nursed person continues for a longtime, the monitoring device notifies the nursing personnel aboutoccurrence of an abnormal state even though the nursed person is in anormal state. This undesirably imposes a burden on the patrolling workof the nursing personnel.

As a result of studies on the above problems, the inventor accomplisheda monitoring support apparatus and a monitoring support method thatlessen a burden on patrolling and monitoring work of a monitoringperson.

A monitoring support apparatus according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure is for supporting work of a monitoring person who monitors aplurality of subjects by sequentially visiting the plurality of subjectsand includes a measuring device that measures the plurality of subjectsand the monitoring person by radiating a detecting wave toward theplurality of subjects and the monitoring person; a position specifyingcircuit that specifies positions of the plurality of subjects and aposition of the monitoring person on a basis of information obtained bythe measuring device; and a decision circuit that decides at least oneselected from a group consisting of a next subject suitable as a subjectto be visited next by the monitoring person among the plurality ofsubjects and a movement path along which the monitoring person movesfrom the position of the monitoring person to the next subject on abasis of the positions of the plurality of subjects and the position ofthe monitoring person specified by the position specifying circuit.

According to this configuration, it is possible to save the monitoringperson the trouble of deciding a subject who should be visited next orthe trouble of deciding a movement path to the subject who should bevisited next. This can lessen a burden of patrolling and monitoring workof the monitoring person.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured to further include aninput unit by which the monitoring person enters monitoring informationon monitoring results and monitoring times of monitoring of theplurality of subjects, wherein the decision circuit decides the at leastone selected from the group consisting of the next subject and themovement path on a basis of the monitoring information.

According to this configuration, at least one of the subject who shouldbe visited next and the movement path can be decided by referring tomonitoring information of the subjects. This can lessen a burden of thepatrolling and monitoring work of the monitoring person.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured such that thedecision circuit acquires, for each of the plurality of subjects, anunmonitored period for which the subject is not being monitored by themonitoring person by using the monitoring information and decides the atleast one selected from the group consisting of the next subject and themovement path so that the unmonitored period of each of the plurality ofsubjects falls within a predetermined unmonitored period.

According to this configuration, the monitoring person can do thepatrolling and monitoring work without anxiety since there is no concernthat the unmonitored period will exceed the predetermined unmonitoredperiod.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured such that thedecision circuit acquires, for each of the plurality of subjects, anunmeasurable period in which the subject is unmeasurable by themeasuring device because of the each of the plurality of subjects beinghidden behind the monitoring person by using the information and decidesthe at least one selected from the group consisting of the next subjectand the movement path so that the unmeasurable period of each of theplurality of subjects falls within a predetermined unmeasurable period.

According to this configuration, the monitoring person can do thepatrolling and monitoring work without anxiety since there is no concernthat the unmeasurable period exceeds the predetermined unmeasurableperiod.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured such that themeasuring device further measures biological information of theplurality of subjects; and the decision circuit decides the at least oneselected from the group consisting of the next subject and the movementpath on a basis of the biological information.

According to this configuration, at least one of the subject who shouldbe visited next and the movement path can be decided by referring tobiological information of the subjects. This allows the monitoringperson to do the patrolling and monitoring work without anxiety.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured such that thedecision circuit acquires, for each of the plurality of subjects, anunmonitored period for which the subject is not being monitored by themonitoring person by using the monitoring information and decides, asthe next subject, a subject who has a longest unmonitored period amongthe plurality of subjects.

According to this configuration, at least one of the subject who shouldbe visited next and the movement path can be decided by referring to asubject who has a longest unmonitored period. This allows the monitoringperson to do the patrolling and monitoring work without anxiety.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured such that thedecision circuit decides the movement path so that a distance over whichthe monitoring person moves to the next subject becomes shortest.

According to this configuration, a burden of the patrolling andmonitoring work of the monitoring person can be lessened since adistance over which the monitoring person moves is shortened.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured such that thedetecting wave is an electromagnetic wave.

According to this configuration, a burden of the patrolling andmonitoring work of the monitoring person can be lessened since adistance, a direction, and an elevation angle from a target and movementof the target can be measured in a non-contact manner.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured such that thedecision circuit decides the movement path so that a situation where apredetermined subject among the plurality of subjects is not irradiatedwith the electromagnetic wave does not occur in a case where themonitoring person moves to the next subject.

According to this configuration, an unmeasurable period of apredetermined subject can be shortened. This can lessen work of checkingan unmeasurable period done by the monitoring person, thereby lesseninga burden of the patrolling and monitoring work of the monitoring person.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured such that thedecision circuit includes an extraction circuit that extracts a subjectwho is unmeasurable by the measuring device among the plurality ofsubjects on a basis of a relationship among the positions of theplurality of subjects, the position of the monitoring person, and aposition of the measuring device; and the decision circuit decides themovement path so that the subject who is unmeasurable by the measuringdevice is irradiated with the electromagnetic wave in a case where themonitoring person moves to the next subject.

According to this configuration, an unmeasurable period of a subjectwhich the measuring device failed to measure can be reset to 0 seconds.This can lessen work of checking an unmeasurable period done by themonitoring person, thereby lessening a burden of the patrolling andmonitoring work of the monitoring person.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured to further include anotification device that notifies the monitoring person about the atleast one selected from the group consisting of the next subject and themovement path.

According to this configuration, a burden of the patrolling andmonitoring work of the monitoring person can be lessened since themonitoring person can be notified about at least one of the subject whoshould be visited next and the movement path.

The monitoring support apparatus may be configured such that thenotification device notifies the monitoring person about the movementpath by irradiating the movement path with visible light.

According to this configuration, a burden of the patrolling andmonitoring work of the monitoring person can be lessened since themonitoring person can be moved along the movement path indicated byvisible light.

A monitoring support method according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure is for supporting work of a monitoring person who monitors aplurality of subjects by sequentially visiting the plurality of subjectsand includes measuring the plurality of subjects and the monitoringperson by radiating a detecting wave toward the plurality of subjectsand the monitoring person; specifying positions of the plurality ofsubjects and a position of the monitoring person on a basis ofinformation obtained by the measuring; and deciding at least oneselected from a group consisting of a next subject suitable as a subjectto be visited next by the monitoring person among the plurality ofsubjects and a movement path along which the monitoring person movesfrom the position of the monitoring person to the next subject on abasis of the positions of the plurality of subjects and the position ofthe monitoring person.

According to this method, the monitoring person can be saved the troubleof deciding a subject who should be visited next or the trouble ofdeciding a movement path to the subject who should be visited next. Thiscan lessen the burden of the patrolling and monitoring work of themonitoring person.

The monitoring support method may further include acquiring monitoringinformation on monitoring results and monitoring times of the pluralityof subjects, wherein in the deciding, the at least one selected from thegroup consisting of the next subject and the movement path is decided ona basis of the monitoring information.

According to this method, at least one of the subject who should bevisited next and the movement path can be decided by referring tomonitoring information of the subjects. This can lessen the burden ofthe patrolling and monitoring work of the monitoring person.

In the present disclosure, all or a part of any of circuit, unit,device, part or portion, or any of functional blocks in the blockdiagrams may be implemented as one or more of electronic circuitsincluding, but not limited to, a semiconductor device, a semiconductorintegrated circuit (IC) or a large scale integration (LSI). The LSI orIC can be integrated into one chip, or also can be a combination ofplural chips. For example, functional blocks other than a memory may beintegrated into one chip. The name used here is LSI or IC, but it mayalso be called system LSI, very large scale integration (VLSI), or ultralarge scale integration (ULSI) depending on the degree of integration. AField Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that can be programmed aftermanufacturing an LSI or a reconfigurable logic device that allowsreconfiguration of the connection or setup of circuit cells inside theLSI can be used for the same purpose.

Further, it is also possible that all or a part of the functions oroperations of the circuit, unit, device, part or portion are implementedby executing software. In such a case, the software is recorded on oneor more non-transitory recording media such as a ROM, an optical disk ora hard disk drive, and when the software is executed by a processor, thesoftware causes the processor together with peripheral devices toexecute the functions specified in the software. A system or apparatusmay include such one or more non-transitory recording media on which thesoftware is recorded and a processor together with necessary hardwaredevices such as an interface.

A monitoring support apparatus and a monitoring support method accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure are described in detail belowwith reference to the drawings.

In the exemplary embodiment described below, it is, for example, assumedthat a subject and a monitoring person are a nursed person such as aninfant having an afternoon nap and a nursing personnel such as a nurseryschool teacher, respectively.

The exemplary embodiment described below illustrates a specific exampleof the present disclosure. Numerical values, shapes, materials,constituent elements, ways in which the constituent elements aredisposed and connected, steps, an order of steps, and the like in theexemplary embodiment below are examples and do not limit the presentdisclosure. Among the constituent elements in the exemplary embodimentbelow, constituent elements that are not recited in an independent claimshowing a highest-order concept are described as optional constituentelements.

EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

1. Configuration of Monitoring Support Apparatus

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a monitoring support apparatus 100according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagramillustrating a functional configuration of the monitoring supportapparatus 100.

FIG. 1 illustrates the monitoring support apparatus 100 that supportsmonitoring of nursed persons 1 to 12 in a building. The monitoringsupport apparatus 100 detects whether the nursed persons 1 to 12 are ina normal condition or an abnormal condition by measuring breathing,heartbeats, and/or the like of the nursed persons 1 to 12. Note that thenumber of nursed persons is not limited to 12, provided that the numberof nursed persons is 3 or more.

FIG. 1 also illustrates a nursing personnel 50 who moves in thebuilding. The nursing personnel 50 checks the nursed persons 1 to 12 whoare taking an afternoon nap to make sure that the nursed persons 1 to 12are not in an abnormal condition by patrolling and monitoring the nursedpersons 1 to 12.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the monitoring support apparatus 100includes a measuring device 110, an input unit 120, a controller 130having a position specifying circuit 140 and a decision circuit 150, anda notification device 180. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the measuringdevice 110 and the notification device 180 are on a ceiling of thebuilding, and the controller 130 is disposed at a corner of thebuilding. The input unit 120 is carried by the nursing personnel 50.

The measuring device 110 is a device that measures the nursed persons 1to 12 or the nursing personnel 50 in the building by radiating anelectromagnetic wave as an example of a detecting wave. Specifically,the measuring device 110 measures a distance, a direction, an elevationangle, and the like of each of the nursed persons 1 to 12 or the nursingpersonnel 50 from the measuring device 110. Furthermore, the measuringdevice 110 measures movement (e.g., breathing or heartbeats) of thenursed persons 1 to 12 by radiating an electromagnetic wave to detectbiological information of the nursed persons 1 to 12. The biologicalinformation is detected by a known radar signal processing method (see,for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2016-214876).

The measuring device 110 is, for example, a Doppler radar. The measuringdevice 110 emits an electromagnetic wave, which is a detecting wave, inthe building and receives a wave reflected by a target to be measured.In this way, the measuring device 110 measures a distance, a direction,an elevation angle to the target to be measured and movement of thetarget to be measured in a non-contact manner. The target to be measuredis detected by a known radar signal processing method (see, for example,Japanese Patent No. 4977806). The electromagnetic wave has, for example,a frequency in a millimeter waveband of not less than 30 GHz to not morethan 300 GHz. The measuring device 110 may measure the target to bemeasured in a non-directional mode in which none of transmissiondirectivity of the detecting wave and reception directivity of thereflected wave are controlled or may measure the target to be measuredin a directional mode in which at least one of the transmissiondirectivity and the reception directivity is controlled. Measurementinformation obtained by the measuring device 110 is supplied to thecontroller 130.

In a case where the measuring device 110 is configured as above, thenursing personnel 50 who is patrolling is sometimes located between themeasuring device 110 and any of the nursed persons 1 to 12. This createsa state (occlusion) in which the measuring device 110 cannot measure anursed person who is hidden behind the nursing personnel 50 when viewedfrom the measuring device 110.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view obtained when the measuring device 110 of themonitoring support apparatus 100, the nursing personnel 50, and thenursed persons 1 to 12 are viewed from above.

FIG. 3 illustrates a measurable region A1 in which a nursed person canbe measured by the measuring device 110 and an unmeasurable region (aregion indicated by hatching dots) A2 in which a nursed person cannot bemeasured. Specifically, in FIG. 3 , the nursed persons 1 to 3, 5, 6, and9 to 12 are in the measurable region A1 and the nursed persons 4, 7, and8 are in the unmeasurable region A2. In FIG. 3 , it is assumed that thenursed person 4, who is in a region partially hidden behind the nursingpersonnel 50, is in the unmeasurable region A2 since measurementinformation concerning the nursed person 4 cannot be sufficientlyobtained.

The monitoring support apparatus 100 according to the present embodimentsupports patrolling and monitoring work of the nursing personnel 50 sothat a situation where the measuring device 110 cannot measure thenursed persons 1 to 12 becomes less likely to occur. A configuration anda method for supporting the patrolling and monitoring work are describedbelow.

The input unit 120 is a device that receives monitoring informationwhich the nursing personnel 50 enters when monitoring the nursed persons1 to 12. The input unit 120 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as asmartphone or a tablet terminal. The nursing personnel 50 performspatrolling and monitoring work while carrying the input unit 120 andindividually enters monitoring information of the nursed persons 1 to12.

FIG. 4 illustrates the input unit 120 of the monitoring supportapparatus 100.

On a screen of the input unit 120 illustrated in FIG. 4 , the nursedperson 7, who is a monitoring target, a monitoring time at which thenursed person 7 was monitored, and a result of the monitoring aredisplayed as an example of the monitoring information. The nursingpersonnel 50 enters the monitoring information by operating the screenof the input unit 120. The monitoring information entered on the inputunit 120 is supplied to the controller 130, for example, throughwireless communication.

The controller 130 is, for example, a computer that includes aprocessor, a memory, and a communication circuit. The individualconstituent elements of the controller 130 that will be described latermay be, for example, software functions realized by execution ofprograms recorded in the memory by the processor.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the controller 130 includes the positionspecifying circuit 140 and the decision circuit 150. The decisioncircuit 150 includes an extraction circuit 160 and a memory 170. Aconfiguration of the controller 130 is described below in detail.

The position specifying circuit 140 specifies positions of the nursedpersons 1 to 12 and a current position of the nursing personnel 50 inthe building on the basis of information obtained by the measuringdevice 110. The position specifying circuit 140 specifies the positionsof the nursed persons 1 to 12 and the nursing personnel 50 in thebuilding, for example, by finding the centroid of scattering points ofthe target to be measured. The positions of the nursed persons 1 to 12and the current position of the nursing personnel 50 specified by theposition specifying circuit 140 are supplied to the extraction circuit160.

The extraction circuit 160 extracts nursed persons that cannot bemeasured by the measuring device 110 and nursed persons that can bemeasured by the measuring device 110 in a distinguishable manner amongthe nursed persons 1 to 12 on the basis of the positions of the nursedpersons 1 to 12 and the current position of the nursing personnel 50specified by the position specifying circuit 140 and the position of themeasuring device 110.

The extraction circuit 160 finds the unmeasurable region A2 that ishidden behind the nursing personnel 50 when viewed from the measuringdevice 110, for example, while regarding the nursing personnel 50 as acolumnar shape approximate model. Then, the extraction circuit 160extracts the nursed persons who cannot be measured and nursed personswho can be measured by determining whether the nursed persons 1 to 12are included in the unmeasurable region A2. In the example illustratedin FIG. 3 , the nursed persons 4, 7, and 8 are extracted as the nursedpersons who cannot be measured by the measuring device 110, and thenursed persons 1 to 3, 5, 6, and 9 to 12 are extracted as the nursedpersons who can be measured. Information on whether or not the nursedpersons 1 to 12 are measurable extracted by the extraction circuit 160is supplied to the memory 170. Note that the unmeasurable region A2 maybe found by the position specifying circuit 140.

The memory 170 stores therein information obtained by the measuringdevice 110, information obtained by the extraction circuit 160, andinformation obtained by the input unit 120. Furthermore, the memory 170stores therein in advance layout information of the nursed persons 1 to12, the measuring device 110, and the notification device 180 in thebuilding.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the measurement informationand the monitoring information stored in the memory 170 of themonitoring support apparatus 100 in chronological order.

FIG. 5 illustrates biological information of the nursed persons 1 to 12,which is one of the measurement information. Specifically, breathingstates of the nursed persons 1 to 12 are expressed as waves as thebiological information.

Furthermore, FIG. 5 illustrates an unmeasurable period, which is one ofthe measurement information. The unmeasurable period is a period inwhich a predetermined nursed person is unmeasurable by the measuringdevice 110 because the predetermined nursed person is hidden behind thenursing personnel 50. The unmeasurable period is accumulated while astate where the nursed person is not irradiated with an electromagneticwave ew of the measuring device 110 continues and returns to 0 uponirradiation of the electromagnetic wave ew. The monitoring supportapparatus 100 supports the patrolling monitoring work so that theunmeasurable period of each of the nursed persons 1 to 12 falls within apredetermined unmeasurable period or so that periods for which thenursed persons 1 to 12 are hidden become short. The predeterminedunmeasurable period in the present embodiment is, for example, 30seconds.

Furthermore, FIG. 5 illustrates monitoring entry, which is one of themonitoring information. The monitoring entry is stored when the nursingpersonnel 50 ends monitoring of a predetermined nursed person and entersa monitoring result and a monitoring time on the input unit 120.

Furthermore, FIG. 5 illustrates an unmonitored period, which is one ofthe monitoring information. The unmonitored period refers to a period inwhich a nursed person is not being monitored by the nursing personnel50. The unmonitored period is a period from monitoring entry to nextmonitoring entry and returns to 0 when next monitoring entry isreceived. The monitoring support apparatus 100 supports the patrollingand monitoring work so that the unmonitored period of each of the nursedpersons 1 to 12 falls within a predetermined unmonitored period. Theunmonitored period in the present embodiment is, for example, 300seconds.

FIG. 6 illustrates a storage table stored in the memory 170 of themonitoring support apparatus 100. Note that FIG. 6 illustrates a scenedifferent from FIG. 5 .

In the storage table of FIG. 6 , unmonitored periods and unmeasurableperiods of the nursed persons 1 to 12 are illustrated. In FIG. 6 , theunmonitored period of the nursed person 5 is 225 seconds, which islongest among the unmonitored periods of the nursed persons 1 to 12. Theunmeasurable periods of the nursed persons 4, 7, and 8 are 10 seconds,18 seconds, and 12 seconds, respectively, which are longer than theunmeasurable periods of the other nursed persons 1 to 3, 5, 6, and 9 to12. Note that the unmeasurable periods of the nursed persons 2 and 11occur because the nursed persons 2 and 11 temporarily becomeunmeasurable due to movement such as roll-over. These unmeasurableperiods return to 0 second relatively early and are not regarded as aproblem.

The decision circuit 150 decides a nursed person who should be visitednext among the nursed persons 1 to 12 and a movement path R1 thatconnects the nursing personnel 50 and the nursed person who should bevisited next by using these pieces of information stored in the memory170. Specifically, the decision circuit 150 decides the nursed personwho should be visited next and the movement path R1 so that theunmonitored period of each of the nursed persons 1 to 12 falls withinthe predetermined unmonitored period on the basis of the positions ofthe nursed persons 1 to 12 and the current position of the nursingpersonnel 50 specified by the position specifying circuit 140.Furthermore, the decision circuit 150 decides the nursed person whoshould be visited next and the movement path R1 so that the unmeasurableperiod of each of the nursed persons 1 to 12 falls within thepredetermined unmeasurable period. The decision circuit 150 may decidethe nursed person who should be visited next and the movement path R1 byusing mathematical programming or artificial intelligence to solve aconstraint satisfaction problem that meets both of the condition thatthe unmonitored periods fall within the predetermined unmonitored periodand the condition that the unmeasurable periods fall within thepredetermined unmeasurable period.

The decision circuit 150 may decide the nursed person who should bevisited next on the basis of not only the various kinds of informationdescribed above but also the biological information of the nursedpersons 1 to 12 measured by the measuring device 110. For example, in acase where the nursed persons 1 to 12 include a person who is in anunstable state, the decision circuit 150 may decide the nursed personwho is in an unstable state as a top-priority person to be visited.

The notification device 180 is a device that notifies the nursingpersonnel 50 about the nursed person who should be visited next and themovement path R1 decided by the decision circuit 150. FIG. 7 illustratesan example of operation of the notification device 180 of the monitoringsupport apparatus 100.

The notification device 180 is, for example, a projection mapping deviceand navigates the nursing personnel 50 along the movement path R1 fromthe current position of the nursing personnel 50 to the nursed person N1who should be visited next (e.g., the nursed person 5) by using visiblelight L1. The nursing personnel 50 moves along the movement path R1.This allows the nursing personnel 50 to efficiently perform thepatrolling and monitoring work of the nursed persons 1 to 12. That is,the monitoring support apparatus 100 configured as above can lessen aburden on the nursing personnel 50 who does the work of patrolling andmonitoring the nursed persons 1 to 12.

2. Monitoring Support Method

Next, a monitoring support method using the monitoring support apparatus100 is described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a monitoringsupport method according to the exemplary embodiment.

First, the measuring device 110 measures the nursed persons 1 to 12 andthe nursing personnel 50 by radiating an electromagnetic wave toward thenursed persons 1 to 12 and the nursing personnel 50 (step S10).

Next, the position specifying circuit 140 of the controller 130specifies positions of the nursed persons 1 to 12 and a current positionof the nursing personnel 50 in the building on the basis of theinformation obtained in step S10 (step S20).

Meanwhile, the nursing personnel 50 does work of patrolling andmonitoring the nursed persons 1 to 12 and enters monitoring informationon monitoring results and monitoring times of the nursed persons 1 to 12on the input unit 120. In this way, the input unit 120 acquires themonitoring information (step S11).

Next, the decision circuit 150 of the controller 130 decides a nursedperson N1 who should be visited next among the nursed persons 1 to 12and a movement path R1 that connects the nursing personnel 50 and thenursed person N1 who should be visited next on the basis of thepositions of the nursed persons 1 to 12 and the current position of thenursing personnel 50 specified in step S20 and the monitoringinformation acquired in step S11 (step S30).

In step S30, the decision circuit 150 may decide the nursed person N1who should be visited next and the movement path R1 on the basis of onlyinformation on the positions specified in step S20. The decision circuit150 may decide at least one of the nursed person N1 who should bevisited next and the movement path R1 in step S30.

Next, the notification device 180 notifies the nursing personnel 50about the nursed person N1 who should be visited next and the movementpath R1 decided by the decision circuit 150 (step S40). Thereafter,steps S10 to S40 are repeatedly executed as needed.

The notification device 180 may notify the nursing personnel 50 aboutthe nursed person N1 who should be visited next and the movement path R1by using the visible light L1 as illustrated in FIG. 7 or may displaythe nursed person N1 who should be visited next and the movement path R1on the screen of the input unit 120 by using the input unit 120 as thenotification device 180 as illustrated in FIG. 9 .

According to such a monitoring support method, the nursing personnel 50can save the trouble of thinking who should be visited next and whichpath he or she should take. This can lessen a burden of the work ofpatrolling and monitoring the nursed persons 1 to 12.

3. Specific Example of Monitoring Support Apparatus and MonitoringSupport Method

Next, specific example 1 of the monitoring support apparatus 100 and themonitoring support method is described.

FIG. 10 illustrates a specific example of deciding the nursed person N1who should be visited next in the monitoring support apparatus 100. FIG.11 illustrates a storage table stored in the memory 170 of themonitoring support apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 10 .

FIG. 10 illustrates a state at a time at which the nursing personnel 50finishes monitoring the nursed person 7. At this time, the unmonitoredperiod of the nursed person 5 is longest among the unmonitored periodsof the nursed persons 1 to 12, as illustrated in FIG. 11 . In view ofthis, the decision circuit 150 of the monitoring support apparatus 100decides the nursed person 5 as the nursed person N1 who should bevisited next among the nursed persons 1 to 12.

Since the decision circuit 150 of the monitoring support apparatus 100decides a nursed person whose unmonitored period is longest as thenursed person N1 who should be visited next among the nursed persons 1to 12 as described above, the nursing personnel 50 can save the troubleof deciding the nursed person N1 who should be visited next. This canlessen the burden of the nursing personnel 50.

Next, specific example 2 of the monitoring support apparatus 100 and themonitoring support method is described.

FIG. 12 illustrates a specific example of deciding the movement path R1of the nursing personnel 50 in the monitoring support apparatus 100.FIG. 13 illustrates a storage table stored in the memory 170 of themonitoring support apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 12 .

FIG. 12 illustrates a state at a time at which the nursing personnel 50finishes monitoring the nursed person 7. At this time, the unmeasurableperiods of the nursed persons 4, 7, and 8 are 10 seconds, 18 seconds,and 12 seconds, respectively, which are longer than the unmeasurableperiods of the other nursed persons 1 to 3, 5, 6, and 9 to 12, asillustrated in FIG. 13 . The unmonitored period of the nursed person 5is longest among the unmonitored periods of the nursed persons 1 to 12.In view of this, the decision circuit 150 of the monitoring supportapparatus 100 decides the movement path R1 so that the nursing personnel50 arrives at the nursed person N1 who should be visited next as earlyas possible or so that the unmeasurable period of the nursed person 4,7, or 8 becomes as short as possible.

Three examples of decision are described below. Note that the nursedperson N1 who should be visited next may be decided in advance by themethod illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 or may be decided based on acommand from another external device.

First, the first example of decision is described with reference toFIGS. 14A and 14B. FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate an example of themovement path R1 decided by the monitoring support apparatus 100illustrated in FIG. 12 .

In the first example of decision, the decision circuit 150 decides themovement path R1 so that a distance over which the nursing personnel 50moves to the nursed person N1 who should be visited next becomesshortest. For example, in a case where the nursed person N1 who shouldbe visited next is the nursed person 5, the decision circuit 150decides, as the movement path R1, a path connecting the current positionof the decision circuit 150 to the nursed person 5 who should be visitednext by a straight line. The nursing personnel 50 can arrive at thenursed person 5 in a short time by moving along the movement path R1from the state illustrated in FIG. 14A, as illustrated in FIG. 14B.

Since the decision circuit 150 decides the movement path R1 so that adistance over which the nursing personnel 50 moves becomes shortest asdescribed above, labor of the nursing personnel 50 can be lessened.

Next, the second example of decision is described with reference toFIGS. 15A and 15B. FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate another example of amovement path decided by the monitoring support apparatus 100illustrated in FIG. 12 .

In the second example of decision, the decision circuit 150 decides themovement path R1 so that a situation where a predetermined nursed personis not irradiated with the electromagnetic wave ew among the nursedpersons 1 to 12 does not occur in a case where the nursing personnel 50moves to the nursed person 5 who should be visited next. For example,the decision circuit 150 decides the movement path R1 so that asituation where the nursed person 6 located between the nursed person 7whom the nursing personnel 50 has just monitored and the nursed person 5who should be visited next is not irradiated with the electromagneticwave ew does not occur, specifically, so that the nursing personnel 50moves around the nursed person 6 on a far side when viewed from themeasuring device 110. In a case where the nursing personnel 50 movesalong the movement path R1 from the state illustrated in FIG. 15A asillustrated in FIG. 15B, the unmeasurable period of the nursed person 6can be shortened.

Since the decision circuit 150 decides the movement path R1 so that asituation where a predetermined nursed person is not irradiated with theelectromagnetic wave ew does not occur, the unmeasurable period of thepredetermined nursed person can be shortened. This can lessen work ofchecking the unmeasurable period done by the nursing personnel 50,thereby lessening a burden of the patrolling and monitoring work of thenursing personnel 50.

Next, the third example of decision is described with reference to FIGS.16A and 16B. FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate still another example of amovement path decided by the monitoring support apparatus 100illustrated in FIG. 12 .

In the third example of decision, the decision circuit 150 decides themovement path R1 so that nursed persons included in the unmeasurableregion A2 are irradiated with the electromagnetic wave ew in a casewhere the nursing personnel 50 moves to the nursed person 5 who shouldbe visited next. For example, the decision circuit 150 decides themovement path R1 so that the nursed persons 4, 7, and 8 who haveunmeasurable periods by being blocked by the nursing personnel 50 areirradiated again with the electromagnetic wave ew, that is, so that thenursing personnel 50 is temporarily moved away from a region between themeasuring device 110 and the nursed persons 4, 7, and 8. In a case wherethe nursing personnel 50 moves along this movement path R1 from thestate illustrated in FIG. 16A as illustrated in FIG. 16B, unmeasurableperiods of the nursed persons 4, 7, and 8 can be returned to 0 second.

Since the decision circuit 150 decides the movement path R1 so thatnursed persons who have unmeasurable periods are irradiated with theelectromagnetic wave ew as described above, the unmeasurable periods ofthese nursed persons can be reset to 0 seconds. This can lessen work ofchecking the unmeasurable periods done by the nursing personnel 50,thereby lessening a burden of the patrolling and monitoring work of thenursing personnel 50.

Other Aspects

Although the monitoring support apparatus and the monitoring supportmethod according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosurehave been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to theexemplary embodiment. Various modifications of the present embodimentwhich a person skilled in the art can think of and combinations ofconstituent elements in different exemplary embodiments may beencompassed within one or more aspects of the present disclosure withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present disclosure.

For example, although FIG. 1 of the exemplary embodiment illustrates anexample in which the controller 130 is disposed at a corner of thebuilding, this configuration is not restrictive. For example, thecontroller 130 may be included in the measuring device 110, thenotification device 180, or the input unit 120 in an integrated manner.Furthermore, the notification device 180 may be included in themeasuring device 110 in an integrated manner.

Furthermore, the decision circuit 150 may cause information calling forattention to be displayed on the screen of the input unit 120 in a casewhere an unmeasurable period of any of the nursed persons 1 to 12exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Furthermore, the unmonitoredperiods and unmeasurable periods of the nursed persons 1 to 12 at acorresponding time may be displayed on the screen of the input unit 120.

Although a nursed person such as an infant having an afternoon nap and anursing personnel such as a nursery school teacher are used as examplesof a subject and a monitoring person, respectively, in the exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure, this is not restrictive. Forexample, the subject and the monitoring person may be a customer seatedat a restaurant and a staff member who take order from customers,respectively, and a movement path along which the staff member takesorder from the customers may be decided.

Although an electromagnetic wave is used as an example of a detectingwave that is radiated toward the subject and the monitoring person inthe exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, this is notrestrictive. For example, an ultrasonic wave may be applied inconsideration of the kind of medium through which the detecting wavepropagates, a frequency or a wavelength of the detecting wave, and otherconditions. The detecting wave is not limited in particular, providedthat a distance, a direction, and an elevation angle from a target to bemeasured and movement of the target to be measured can be measured in anon-contact manner based on a wave emitted toward the target to bemeasured and then reflected by the target to be measured under a targetenvironment.

The monitoring support apparatus and the monitoring support methodaccording to the present disclosure are widely applicable to devices andthe like that monitor biological information such as a monitoring systemin a nursery school, a nursing-care facility, a hospital, or the like ora service system in a restaurant or the like.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a measuring device that measures a plurality of subjects by radiating a detecting wave toward the plurality of subjects; a position specifying circuit that specifies positions of the plurality of subjects on a basis of information obtained by the measuring device; and a determining circuit that determines a next subject suitable as a subject to be visited next by a monitoring person among the plurality of subjects, and/or a movement path along which the monitoring person moves from a position of the monitoring person to the next subject on a basis of the positions of the plurality of subjects specified by the position specifying circuit.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit by which the monitoring person enters monitoring information on monitoring results and monitoring times of monitoring of the plurality of subjects, wherein the determining circuit determines the next subject, and/or the movement path, on a basis of the monitoring information.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the determining circuit acquires, for each of the plurality of subjects, an unmonitored period for which the subject is not being monitored by the monitoring person by using the monitoring information, and determines the next subject, and/or the movement path, so that the unmonitored period of each of the plurality of subjects falls within a predetermined unmonitored period.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining circuit acquires, for each of the plurality of subjects, an unmeasurable period in which the subject is unmeasurable by the measuring device, and determines the next subject, and/or the movement path, so that the unmeasurable period of each of the plurality of subjects falls within a predetermined unmeasurable period.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device further measures biological information of the plurality of subjects; and the determining circuit determines the next subject, and/or the movement path, on a basis of the biological information.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the determining circuit acquires, for each of the plurality of subjects, an unmonitored period for which the subject is not being monitored by the monitoring person by using the monitoring information, and determines, as the next subject, a subject who has a longest unmonitored period among the plurality of subjects.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining circuit determines the movement path so that a distance over which the monitoring person moves to the next subject becomes shortest.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting wave is an electromagnetic wave.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the determining circuit determines the movement path so that a situation where a subject among the plurality of subjects is not irradiated with the electromagnetic wave does not occur in a case where the monitoring person moves to the next subject.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the determining circuit includes an extraction circuit that extracts a subject who is unmeasurable by the measuring device among the plurality of subjects on a basis of a relationship among the positions of the plurality of subjects, the position of the monitoring person, and a position of the measuring device; and in a case where the monitoring person moves to the next subject, the determining circuit determines the movement path so that the subject who is unmeasurable by the measuring device is irradiated with the electromagnetic wave.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification device that notifies the monitoring person about the next subject, and/or the movement path.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the notification device notifies the monitoring person about the movement path by irradiating the movement path with visible light.
 13. A method comprising: measuring a plurality of subjects by radiating a detecting wave toward the plurality of subjects; specifying positions of the plurality of subjects on a basis of information obtained by the measuring; and determining a next subject suitable as a subject to be visited next by a monitoring person among the plurality of subjects, and/or a movement path along which the monitoring person moves from a position of the monitoring person to the next subject on a basis of the positions of the plurality of subjects.
 14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising acquiring monitoring information on monitoring results and monitoring times of the plurality of subjects, wherein the determining operation determines the next subject, and/or the movement path, on a basis of the monitoring information.
 15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising acquiring, for each of the plurality of subjects, an unmeasurable period in which the subject is unmeasurable by the detecting wave, and wherein the determining operation determines the next subject, and/or the movement path, so that the unmeasurable period of each of the plurality of subjects falls within a predetermined unmeasurable period.
 16. The method according to claim 13, wherein in the measuring operation, biological information of the plurality of subjects is measured; and the determining operation determines the next subject, and/or the movement path, on a basis of the biological information.
 17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the detecting wave is an electromagnetic wave.
 18. The method according to claim 13, wherein the plurality of subjects exists in the same room.
 19. The method according to claim 13, wherein in the measuring, at least two of the plurality of subjects are measured with a common measuring device. 